Ascend
by SkylaGirl108
Summary: NOT ABOUT MAXIMUM RIDE BUT A SIMILAR IDEA  The winged people of Goraidh have lived on the same mountain forever. When dark shadow creatures appear, they are submerged in chaos. Will their teenage leader make it past her friend's and family's lies to save her village? Or will she collapse under the pressure?   Warning: violence/blood/death/etc  No harsh language
1. Prologue

**Hi, this is my first story. If you were hoping for something to do with the book this is categorized in, sorry. It doesn't have anything to do with it. Please, just give my story a chance...**

Prologue

The healer emerged from the medicine tent, covered in blood. His tired body was drooping with exhaustion; his face filled with sorrow. When he lifted his head to address the gathered flock, they instantly went quiet, tension saturating the air. The words that slipped from his mouth then changed the life of the Goraidh people forever; "Queen Zephyr is dead."

For a few moments, disbelief kept the crowd silent. But then the news sank in; the silence didn't last long. Shocked voices filled the mountainside.

"Impossible!"

"If this is supposed to be a joke, it sure isn't funny."

"I'd rather it be a joke than it be the truth!"

"What are we gonna do?"

"Who did it? I'll kill them!"

"We have no leader! What're we gonna do?"

While the group voiced their opinions, the healer stood quietly and waited for them to settle down. When they didn't, he said patiently, "Please. If you would all just quiet down, we could discuss this like civilized people."

The group quieted to look at the doctor. A frightened-looking man stepped forward and said softly, "Conan, what happened, exactly? How did she …die?"

Conan sighed, wiped some blood off his glasses with a his tunic, and said, "As you know, Zephyr announced that she was ill around four seasons ago. She refused to see anyone. She wouldn't even let me see to her. She continued to lead us through her servants for a long time. Then, three days ago, she permitted me to visit her. Apparently, she wasn't ill- she was, er, pregnant."

Another awkward silence passed through the flock. For a long while, nothing was said. Then Conan cleared his throat and said formally, "As you have probably guessed, she died in childbirth. We have no idea who the father is; she wouldn't say. Please, wait here a moment."

He slipped back into the tent, then came back not seconds later with a young, sad-looking woman. She was carrying a small bundle. He took the bundle gently from her, unwrapped it, and held the contents up for the whole flock to see.

The baby girl opened her beautiful blue eyes for the first time.

Thus began the life of Princess Azizah.

**I'm not good at writing prologues. Review and keep reading! :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**I've always wanted to be an author but i never had the guts to write anything. Please keep reading... By doing so you just totally make my day, you know that?**

Chapter One: POV Azizah

Azizah yawned, fiddling with her bleach-blonde braids, and scanned the clearing from her perch in the tree. _Of course he isn't here!_ She thought grumpily. _He's always out on his own, romping around in the forest._ She gazed wistfully out at the beautiful forest, the different shades of green bathed in sunlight. _He never takes me along… I hate the way Conan treats me like I'm helpless. I may not have my wings yet,_ she thought indignantly, _but that doesn't mean I'll get lost!_

She was awakened from her brooding when she heard noises coming from the forest. _Maybe Conan's back from his walk_! She thought excitedly.

Sure enough, Conan emerged from the lush forest into the clearing with a sleeping child in his arms. _What the-?_ Azizah peered closer at the girl he was carrying.

Sure enough, she had dark violet hair. Azizah was shocked. She'd never even seen someone with dirty blonde hair, let alone brown, black or… violet. Everyone she had ever seen had hair the color of snow or wheat. _The girl is so pale!_ She thought, confused. _You'd think she'd never seen the sun…_

She suddenly remembered that she was crouching on the platform in the tree that held Conan's tent. She hurriedly scampered up onto a nearby branch. Then she watched as Conan's wings extended from his back and he flew up onto the platform, landing but a few paces from where Azizah hid. _That was close. If he finds out I climbed the ladder all the way up here without telling anyone,_ she thought nervously, _he'll ground me for a gazillion years_. She made as little sound as possible as Conan retracted his wings and ducked into the tent. Azizah paused, then snuck up close enough to then tent to hear what was said inside. She heard a reedy, high-pitched voice that she knew all too well. _Oh joy, it's Bidina._ She wrinkled her nose. _Possibly the most overprotective nanny in the history of Goraidh._ She leaned closer and kept listening.

"What IS that? What do you think you are doing, bringing it in here?", The nanny shrieked.

There was quiet for a few seconds, then Conan said, " It's obviously a young girl. Is that such a horrible thing?".

The nanny's voice got squeakier. "It must be a demon! What else would have such strange colored hair? The little monster probably came to kill the princess."

Azizah almost laughed. _A demon, come to kill me? Ha! It'd have to catch me first._

Conan sighed. "That high-pitched noise coming out of your mouth is really starting to irritate me, Bidina. I'm very glad you are being protective of the princess, as is your job as her nanny, but aren't you kind of overreacting?"

Bidina scoffed. "What, would you rather it kill her? Go put the devil child back where you found it, Conan, for her sake."

Conan sighed again. "Really, Bidina, what could an 8 year old fledgling do? I found her wandering alone in the forest. I'm not going to abandon a helpless child because of the superstitions of an overprotective nanny."

Bidina's voice got even higher. "No way are you keeping the little monster anywhere near the princess. Period. End. Of. Story."

There was a short laugh. "Funny you should mention it… I've decided to adopt her. She is now the princess's adopted sister."

Bidina started freaking out all over again, but Azizah was too absorbed in her own happy thoughts to hear what she said. _A sister!_ Azizah smiled to herself. _Someone my age I can play with, a sister to talk to about all my problems. We can climb trees, and prank Bidina together, It's gonna be so awesome!_

Azizah heard Bidina threaten, "Fine. If you take in that demon, I'll quit!"

_Yes, please do!_ Azizah snickered.

There was a pause in the argument. "Azizah, we heard that. Get in here." Conan said.

_Crud_. Azizah scolded herself. _I can't believe I did that! I'll get grounded for sure._

Azizah walked slowly into the tent, her head down, not meeting Conan's green eyes. Before she knew what she was doing, she shouted "Please? Can we adopt her? I always wanted a sister…" When no one said anything, she looked up. Conan was smiling at her.

"Of course we're going to adopt her! Right Bidina?" Conan glared at the nanny out of the corner of his eye.

Before Bidina could say anything, Azizah asked, "What's her name?"

Conan looked back at the sleeping girl. "She says her name's Ravyn. She was so exhausted, she fell asleep in my arms on the way here."

Bidina said angrily. "I don't care what her name is. The princess is not to go near her. She's a bad influence."

Conan turned to face her. "You are not in charge of the princess. I am. The queen assigned me to be her guardian until the girl is old enough to lead the village. Since you are being so difficult, I will raise the princess and poor Ravyn myself. So, if you would be so kind as to leave and never come back…" He continued, but the nanny was already out the door.

A soft voice filled the tent. "Thank you, princess Azizah."

Azizah jumped, surprised. Apparently, Ravyn was awake.

Conan set her down on the wood floor. She stood, only slightly shorter than Azizah. Ravyn smiled shyly at her new sister.

Azizah looked her over. Her eyes were the same dark purple as her hair. She was wearing a dark blue, almost black cloak and black boots. Her hair was short in the back and two long locks hung down in the front, almost to her waist. _I wonder where she got those from?_ Azizah wondered. _Dark colored clothes are rare around here_. Azizah herself wore a short-sleeve, knee-length girls tunic in a robin's egg blue that matched her eyes. She also had her favorite climbing shoes; white leather moccasins. Pretty much everybody she knew wore the same thing as she did; except the colors were different.

"I have another surprise for you, Azizah." Conan said.

Azizah smiled. Shed already knew what it was. Her first day of lessons at the Tree were the next day. She waited for him to tell her the big "surprise".

Conan smiled back. "You and Ravyn are going to school together tomorrow,."

Azizah laughed at the expression on Ravyn's face. It was halfway between horrified and ecstatic. "C'mon, Ravyn, lets go back to my tent!" Azizah took hold of Ravyn's hand. She looked at Azizah so intensely, it was almost desperate. She then opened her mouth, as if to say something, but Conan said quickly, "Yes, Azizah, lets give Ravyn a tour of the village."

Before anyone could say anything else, Conan herded the girls out the door. Azizah started to climb down the steps that spiraled down the sides of the tree, into the clearing below, but she looked up and saw Conan shook a warning glance at Ravyn. The dark-haired girl looked away, a pained look on her face.

_Hmm…,_ Azizah thought suspiciously, _What are they hiding from me?..._

**Did you like it? Did you not? What didn't you like?** **What did you like?** **Review, please, so i can fix my writing style! :) **


	3. Chapter 2

**Yay! If you're still reading my story, it means I'm doing something right, and that I'm not a total failure at writing! :) continuing...**

POV Lyall

Lyall's feet hurt. _I can't wait to get my wings_, he thought wistfully. _Then I won't have to walk all the way to the Tree._ He saw a Goraidh woman doing flips in the air, glossy white wings catching the morning sun. _Lucky…_ He glared at her enviously.

He was sharply awakened from his sulking when he tripped on a root. He crashed down heavily with a THUNK.

"Smooth." He said to himself. "Very graceful. Good thing I broke the fall with my face." He groaned and sat up.

"Need some help?" _Crap, someone saw me._ He moaned. _Could this day get any worse?_ Then he looked up.

Princess Azizah was standing right there, a hand extended towards him, an amused look on her face. He moaned again. "Oh, great." He muttered to himself. "It just had to be the princess who watched me make a total fool of myself. When I asked if today could get any worse, it was a rhetorical question."

The princess cleared her throat and said, "You know, if you wanted to just stay there, lying in the dirt, you could've just told me. I don't want to stand here all day."

Lyall said quickly, "Oh! No, some help would be nice, thank you very much." Azizah laughed and clasped his hand, hauling him up onto his feet. Brushing himself off and retrieving his bag from the dirt, he said "Hi, I'm Lyall. Judging by your blue eyes, you must be Princess Azizah. Nice to meet you.".

She snorted. "Hi Lyall. Yeah, I'm the princess, but just call me Azizah, OK? Since you're my friend now, you're gonna show me where the Tree is, right? Conan gave me directions, but I still got lost." She gave him a hopeful smile.

He stared at her. _OK…_ "Just follow me. Are you coming for lessons?" He asked, curious to why the princess would be here in the first place.

She jumped up and down and said happily. "Yep! Conan has been teaching me at home so far, but now I get to take lessons with the other fledglings. Oh! I forgot to mention-"

A dark blur slammed into Lyall with so much force that he flew backward and hit a nearby tree.

"Hey! What the -?" He moaned and found himself sprawled on the ground for the second time that day. He was being pinned down by a young girl with dark purple hair. "Get off me you little…" He tried to push her off, but she held fast. He pushed harder, then noticed that Azizah was laughing.

"Get off him, Ravyn! He isn't gonna hurt anyone." She walked over and helped him up. He never took his eyes off the strange girl.

"This is Ravyn. Conan just adopted her, so she's technically my sister." She nudged the girl. "Apologize, Ravyn. Jumping random people isn't very nice."

Ravyn looked up at him. She looked embarrassed. "I'm really sorry. I thought you were a threat. If I had known you were a friend of Azizah's, I wouldn't have attacked. Please forgive me; I really am sorry…" She said miserably. She looked back down at her feet.

Azizah ran up and hugged her. "Aw, don't be too hard on yourself, Ravyn. It was an accident. Lyall doesn't hate you for it or anything, right Lyall?" She gave him a look.

Lyall gave Ravyn a reassuring smile.

Ravyn smiled back. "Thanks. So your name's Lyall, right? I really am sorry about earlier. Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. So... are you taking classes with Azizah and everyone else?" Lyall asked, eager to change the subject.

"Uh-huh. I believe we're in the same class." Ravyn looked away.

There was an awkward silence. Azizah looked at Lyall. "You know where the Tree is, right? Lead away. We're right behind you!"

Lyall continued down the path. Every once and a while, he would look back and see the two girls following along behind him.

_I think I just made some new friends._ The thought made Lyall smile. _If "friends" is the right word for it._

**Sorry it's not as long as the last one. Or maybe you readers like them shorter, I don't know. Tell me what you prefer. Review, please! That's what keeps me going! **_**I luv you guys! The next chapter is coming out soon!...**  
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	4. Chapter 3

**Im** **soooooooooooo sorry this is so late, i lost my flash drive for a while, but then i FOUND it... in the refrigerator. ****i have no clue how it got there. anyway, on with the story.**

POV Azizah

"Happy birthday!"

_What the-?_ Azizah slowly opened her eyes to see Lyall's smiling face.

He laughed delightedly. "Man, if you could see the expression on your face. Priceless. Get up, sleepy-head, else I'll find something nasty to dump on your head."

She sat up. "I've got such _nice_ friends. I must be a jerk magnet or something." She grumbled. "What are you doing in my room?" _Good thing I'm wearing a nightgown_ _instead of my underclothes_, she thought, _or else this morning would be off to a really awkward start._

"Why, it's your birthday! We wanted to give you a, uh, surprise party." He said innocently.

She grabbed a nearby pillow. "Well party _this_, you piece of- wait, _we_?" She looked around nervously.

"Happy birthday."

Azizah jumped. Ravyn had somehow gotten behind her without making a sound.

She was wearing a simple black sundress, and her hair was fastened behind her in a weird bun, and her eyebrows were drawn together in a worried line. Her eyes were directed at the princess, but it was as if Ravyn were looking through Azizah, instead of at her.

_I wonder what she's thinking about?_ Azizah thought absently. _She has been kind of spacy for a long time..._

"So, how old are you now?"

Lyall's question brought her back to reality. "Um-"

"13." Ravyn said immediately.

Both Lyall and Azizah turned to look at her.

Ravyn blushed. "Sorry…" She mumbled.

"No, it's okay. It's just odd that you knew how old I was before I had even counted." Azizah smiled.

Ravyn shrugged, frowning.

"Ah, well, I guess someone's got to keep track. 13, huh? With those dark spots under your eyes and that messy hair, you don't look a day over 40." Lyall teased.

"Ha ha, very funny." Azizah muttered, combing her hair out with one hand and shooing Lyall out with the other. "Get out of here, you dog, I'm going to change clothes."

Once Lyall left, Azizah turned to Ravyn. "All right, I give. What's up?"

Ravyn glanced up at her. "What do you mean?"

The princess sighed. "Really? You think I haven't noticed? You're worried about something."

"Am not."

"Are to." Azizah smiled.

Ravyn smiled back, or tried to. "No, really, I'm fine. Just… distracted."

"You sure? If there's something you want to talk about-"

"No." Ravyn said suddenly.

_Okaaaay_… Azizah was about to comment when Ravyn said hurriedly, "I mean, no, I've got nothing to talk about." She started to leave. "I should go. Lyall's probably waiting for us, and you need to change out of that gown. Happy Birthday, and all that."

She disappeared out the doorway, but then she poked her head back in and added, "But seriously, I'm okay. I've got nothing to talk about."

_I'm sure you don't_, Azizah thought suspiciously. _I'm sure you don't._

**It's kind of short, i know, i wrote it in only a couple hours cause i felt bad about losing my flash drive. R&R, please, R&R**_.  
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	5. Chapter 4

**OK, so this chapter is longer than the other one. 1, 600-something words. So. On with the story.**

POV Lyall

_Where are they?_

Lyall busied himself with chucking stones into a nearby pond. The light from the big white sun reflected off the water, making an upside-down exclamation point on the surface of the pool.

_Girls,_ he thought dryly. _Sure, go ahead and take your time changing clothes. It's not like I'm waiting for you or anything._

He frowned. _It's not like I have anywhere else to be._

Something moved on the other side of the pond, catching his attention. _Hmm,_ he thought absently. _Maybe it's edible_. Lyall dropped the rock he was holding and peered into the trees, but he couldn't see anything.

Lyall started to walk around the pond, when he saw something move again. This time, he could clearly make out it's color: black. Dark black. If it were in a pitch-black room, the thing would stand out because it would be the darkest thing there. It was just that dark-colored.

He tried to focus on it, but he still couldn't see anything. He walked to the edge of the forest. _Nothing out of the ordinary, just a whole lot of trees and mud. Well, it is the rainy season after all. It's bound to be muddy._

_Wait... mud_?

He smiled. _If there really was something there, then it would leave tracks, right?_

_Well, unless it was a ghost, he thought with a little shiver._

He had started to go deeper into the forest, when something occurred to him. _What if it was Ravyn, spying on him?_ He shook his head. _She probably wouldn't spy on her friends. Probably._

"Looking for something?"

He spun around, only to find Ravyn, an amused expression on her face. She was still wearing the dress that she had on when they threw Azizah's surprise "party", but it had a small tear in the bottom, and had a couple mud splatters. Her hair was starting to fall out of the bun. A smear of dirt was faintly visible on her pale cheek, as if she had tried to wipe it off in a hurry. Her breathing came in little gasps like she had been running and was trying to hide it. The half-smile that curled her lips didn't quite reach her worried eyes.

Lyall wasn't as stupid as he acted sometimes (or all the time, as Azizah might point out.). _She has obviously been running around in the forest._ He looked over his shoulder, to where the dark blur had disappeared further into the trees. He was pretty sure that wasn't Ravyn. Whoever it was, they were only about waist high. If it was a person, which Lyall highly doubted. He had never seen a person, adult or fledgling, move that fast. Now that he thought of it, he'd never seen an animal move that fast either. It scared him a little bit. Just a little.

"I'll help you find it. Whatever you lost... Hey, you look pretty freaked out. Is everything all right?" Raven asked.

_Stop acting stupid. It was probably just your imagination,_ He scolded himself. He focused on Ravyn and forced a smile. "Nah, I'm okay. I-I just thought... I just thought I saw something. In the forest." He stuttered. _Wow, great job,_ he thought sourly. _That sounded real manly. She probably thinks you're afraid of the dark or something._

Instead, she looked concerned. "Something in the forest? You mean, like, an animal?"

_She's taking me seriously_, he thought in wonder. _What a strange girl._ "Yeah. It was black, and kind of big, for an animal. I wish you could have seen it, Ravyn. It moved so fast, it was just a blur... uh, Ravyn? Are you...?"

He looked at her as he spoke. With every sentence, her face had gone paler and paler, her eyes wider and wider, until her skin looked like it was made of porcelain and her eyes were huge violet pools of fear. She noticed him staring, and tried to look just vaguely interested. Once she had a relatively straight face, she choked out, "A black animal? That went really fast? Tell me exactly what you saw. Please." Realizing how strange she sounded, she added quickly, "It could be dangerous. I need to know what it looks like so Conan can warn others to stay away from it."

_She obviously knows something about the black animal I saw_, he thought suspiciously. "Well... It was about hip-height, and it was a really dark shade of black, as weird as that sounds. I couldn't see it very well, because it was moving so fast. Seriously, this thing can move. It went super-fast, even faster than flying. Anyway, I had no idea what it was." He glanced at Ravyn. "Any guesses?"

She looked away. "Nope. I mean, you could have been imagining it or something." Her eyebrows drew together into a worried line. "But just in case, you should probably stay out of the woods." As she said the last sentence, her voice took on a strange tone, but Lyall couldn't quite figure out what it meant.

She shook her head. "Anyway, I should go talk to Conan. He'll know what it was, I'm sure." With that, she turned and dashed off in the direction of the village.

_She has been talking to Conan a lot lately,_ he thought absently. But before he could do anything, a strange battle cry erupted from the reeds behind him. He spun, only to be hit full-on in the face by a blast of water.

"And that, my friend, is for waking me up so early this morning."

Smiling at the familiar voice, and wiping scummy pond-water out of his eyes, he peered out at the pond to see Azizah, leggings rolled up, standing in the middle of the pond. The water only went up to her knees. Her hands were held out, palms out, blue wisps of aura seeping from her fingers. In front of her, a blob of water 3 times the size of her head levitated around shoulder-height. The triumphant smile on her face said it all.

Lyall mock-pouted. "Oh, come on! Using your aura is cheating. Only the royal family can use aura-energy, you know. How am I supposed to fight against that?"

She laughed evilly. "You don't. Do not fight the will of the princess, commoner."

Suddenly, the orb of water wavered, and fell back into the pond with a big splash, completely soaking Azizah from head to toe.

Now it was Lyall's turn to laugh. "Apparently, I don't have to."

Pouting, and pointedly ignoring him, Azizah started wringing her hair out and wading back towards shore. "You gotta admit, I am getting better at controlling aura. I could barely lift a pebble a month ago. Now I can lift a huge ball of water like that."

"But you can't keep it up." Lyall snickered.

A fist-sized ball of water flew towards Lyall's head. He dodged it, laughing. "You can do better than that, princess–"

He was cut off when a ball of mud slammed into his back, knocking him off balance and pushing him into the pond. He sat up, only to find Azizah laughing so hard that she almost fell in with him.

Spluttering, he tried to stand up, only to fall backwards with a splash, which only made the princess laugh harder.

Lyall started laughing too. "Okay, maybe I deserved that. A little help, Your Highness?"

She finally stopped laughing, and, with a mock sigh, said, "Oh no, does little Lyall need help getting off his butt?"

She reached out to take his hand, but he grabbed her and pulled her in.

"That wasn't very nice!" She said indignantly, trying, and failing, to look unhappy.

Soon, they were both laughing and splashing and throwing balls of mud at each other.

Afterwards, Azizah looked down at her was-blue-but-now-a-muddy-brownish-green tunic and sighed. "Conan's gonna get me for this. Ah, well. At least there's no school today."

"Speaking of school," Lyall said excitedly, "you remember what we're doing tomorrow, right?"

She looked shocked. "Of course I remember. Who could forget? We're finally able to use our wings! People will stop calling us fledglings, thank goodness."

Lyall smiled slyly, and practically bragged, "I bet my wings are bigger."

"How much?"

"3 kaytos."

"You're on."

Lyall laughed. "Your loss."

Azizah ignored him. "Where did Ravyn go?"

"To see Conan. She looked... distracted."

"She goes to see him a lot lately." The princess sighed. "Why did she go?"

Lyall pointed out towards the forest. "I saw something in the woods. She freaked. Said she wanted to talk to Conan, and left. End of story."

Azizah searched the woods with her eyes. "What did you see?"

"A black animal of some sort. I think we should go look for tracks."

Azizah snorted. "You probably imagined it. Let's go." She fingered her ruined tunic. "We have some clothes to wash."

She walked towards the village. When she saw he wasn't following, she turned to look at him. "Coming?"

He shook his head. "I'll catch up with you."

"Suit yourself." She shrugged and disappeared into the forest.

Lyall walked over to the spot he thought he saw the black creature. He scanned the ground, looking for prints. He couldn't see any tracks, and was turning around to go home when he saw a single print on the ground.

Leaning closer, he saw that it was shaped like a dog print. He would have thought it was a dog.

If the print hadn't been the size of his head.

Or didn't have claw marks as thick as his thumb.

He stared at the print, then suppressing a shiver of fear, peered through the forest, looking for signs of the creature. He didn't see it.

_But that doesn't mean it's not there._

**Some people had questions about the names, so i put some answers down, in case you were wondering:_  
><em>Azizah, pronounced uh-zie-zuh**

**Lyall, pronounced lie-ull**

**Ravyn, pronounced ray-ven**

**Conan, pronounced co-nan**

**btw i did not choose conans name to have anything to do with conan the barbarian, ok? conan means wise. so yeah. just wanted to clear that up.**

**Review Pretty Please!  
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	6. Chapter 5

**Ok, this is a reeeaaaally long chapter, like 2 in 1. **

**Versace, my dear cousin: thanks for reading my story. you just make my day.  
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POV Azizah

Azizah gazed down at the sleeping form of Lyall. The bed was a too short for him, so his legs hung limply off the edge. He was tangled in the blankets and snoring softly. His eyes were scrunched up and the edges of his lips tilted downward, as if he was having a bad dream.

The princess looked over her shoulder at the doorway. She had made sure none of the other orphans were awake before sneaking down to the orphan hut. There weren't many, but most of the homeless children would surely make a fuss of the princess visiting their humble abode. Most of them.

She turned back towards the sleeping boy. Poor Lyall. He doesn't have any parents. Of course, neither do I, and neither does Ravyn, but we've got Conan. Lyall's got nobody. She thought sadly.

Lyall shifted slightly, sighing in his sleep. Azizah firmly shook her head. No, he does have somebody. Two somebodies. We're here for him, Ravyn and I. We'll always be here for him when he needs us.

She smiled wickedly. But first, she thought, leaning towards him, he's got a lesson to learn.

Cupping her hands around her mouth, she said into his ear, "Wake up, you blockhead. We get our wings today. Prepare to lose 3 kaytos to yours truly."

He moaned and said something along the lines of "Gooaahwaayiiizlebing", before rolling over and pulling the blanket over his head.

She sighed dramatically and took hold of a corner of his quilt. "Don't tell me you're backing out of our bet already. Come on, I'm not waiting for you forever." She said, tugging hard on the blanket. He was stronger than her, though, and kept a firm hold on it. "Hello? Wings? Don't you want to be at the ceremony on time?"

He sat up. "All right, all right! I'm coming... Um, could you leave for a second?"

"What, so you can go back to sleep? Keep dreaming." She scoffed.

Lyall got up and turned towards her, one eyebrow raised. "Sure, go ahead and stay. I'm sure that you'd just love to see me change clothes, right?"

"Leaving. I'm leaving."

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><p>POV Lyall<p>

Lyall exited the small hut he called home to find the princess waiting for him.

She took one look at the loose tunic he wore and said, "Nope. You are so not wearing that."

"What? It's not like this is the outfit that matters. They supply you with open-backed shirts to wear for the actual ceremony part. You know that, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Not like I can force you."

Azizah was wearing a blue sleeveless dress with matching moccasins. Her pretty blond hair cascaded around her shoulders, waving in the gentle breeze. _Where does she get those blue moccasins_? He wondered absently.

Looking past the princess, Lyall scanned the forest on the far side of the clearing. "Where is Ravyn?"

"Went to see Conan. She told me to come wake you up." Azizah replied, climbing through the opening in the tree trunk that lead to the inner stairway that was used to get to ground level. She looked back through the opening. "Which was payback for yesterday, in case you haven't noticed."

"I noticed."

He followed her down the staircase and out into the huge clearing. As Azizah walked on, Lyall paused, gazing out towards the path that lead to the pond. _I wonder what that creature was_, he thought nervously. _Judging from the size of the claws on the track it left, it was definitely a carnivore_. Lyall shivered. _I just hope it doesn't eat people._

Following a well-worn trail through the thinner forest area opposite the lake path, Lyall couldn't stop thinking about the thing he saw in the forest. Finally he asked casually, "Have there been any reports of missing livestock lately?"

Azizah looked over her shoulder. "Livestock? Like, sheep and cows and stuff?"

"What, do you think I'm talking about? Flowers?" He muttered.

"I can't hear you when you mumble. Did you say something?"

He sighed. "Nope."

She turned back towards the path. "I haven't heard of anything being stolen. Why do you ask?"

Lyall shrugged, trying to sound disinterested. "Just wondering."

There was a few minutes of quiet, with only the sound of their footsteps hitting the ground. Lyall wanted to break the silence and started to say, "I've been thinking–"

"Don't strain yourself." Azizah said innocently.

"You're one to talk." Lyall scoffed.

The princess laughed. "You shouldn't insult your future leader, lowly peasant. Who knows? I might just throw you into the volcano myself."

"Good luck with that, Azi. Good luck with that."

* * *

><p>POV Azizah<p>

When they finally reached the ceremonial clearing, all they could hear was the excited chatter of graduate fledglings. Azizah saw that everyone else had already arrived, minus Ravyn.

The big hut where the preparations for the ceremony took place was situated in the northern side of the clearing, facing down the mountain. A line of all 20-or-so fledglings led up to the big doorway on the side of the building. Azizah and Lyall joined at the end of the line.

"Princess Azizah! You can come cut in front of me in line, if you want." A short girl with bleach-blond hair and hazel eyes offered.

"I'm just fine here, thanks for asking." Azizah replied without hesitation. _What's her name?... Oh yeah, That's Pippa. I need to pay more attention to people's names if I'm going to be queen._ Azizah gave the girl a cheerful smile.

"Hey, Azi, look! Ravyn's here! Better late than never, I guess."

Azizah turned to see Conan walking towards the front of the line in long, confident strides. Behind him, Ravyn emerged from the woods. She immediately scanned the length of the line, looking for Azizah and Lyall. When she found them, she gave her trademark lopsided smile and joined them.

Upon Conan's arrival, the graduates quieted. He went and stood next to the door, looking very serious, even somber. He turned to face them and, suddenly, a wide smile spread across his face.

"I'm assuming you all know what's going on, because if you don't, then you must not get out very often." This brought a collective laugh rippling down the line. Conan continued, "You probably don't want to hear me talk much. So I'll just say two things; One, good luck. Two, don't eat anything that's blue. It's probably poisonous." Another laugh. "Just kidding. Two, I'm very proud of you. All of you." When he said the last sentence, he glanced in Ravyn's direction. She noticed, and looked down at her feet, biting her lip. Azizah reached out and put her hand on her shoulder.

Conan vanished into the tent, but before the fledglings could start chattering again, their new flight teacher walked out. She looked to be a middle-aged woman, but it was hard to tell when almost everyone's hair is bleach-blond. Her eyes were a dark emerald green. When she spoke, her voice was gentle but firm, like she knew what she wanted, and she was going to get it. "All-righty then. Each one of you has your own stall, in which is placed your ceremonial clothing. You'll have 5 minutes to change, then the painters will be sent in for final preparations. Any questions?" She finished. After a few seconds with no questions, she continued. "Okay. Enough said.." She turned to the first graduate in line. "So, your name is Sotta? Right this way, boy..."

The line went by quickly. Soon, the flight teacher was looking down at Azizah.

"You're the princess, right? Only the royal family has those pretty blue eyes. Anyways, Taralee here will show you which stall's yours."

A young woman with pale brown eyes poked her head through the doorway. She smiled and held her hand out. "This way, princess."

Azizah followed the woman along the narrow hall, walking past many curtained stalls before coming to a stop. Taralee gestured towards a stall. "This one is yours." she said softly, then left.

Walking in, Azizah immediately noticed the mirror, since was about the size of the wall. Adjacent to that, there was a bench with a pile of clothes folded on top of it. Across from it, there was a drawer with a stool connected to it.

_ It's bigger than I expected,_ she thought. _This whole building is bigger than I expected._

She put on the comfortable, baggy pants first. The shirt, however, was strange. It ties behind the neck, then covers the front and ties around the base of the ribcage, leaving the back open, and then splayed out like a skirt.

It's what everyone wears all the time, she thought, But it's just so strange to try it on after wearing tunics my whole life.

Although the shirt's style was common among the village, the colors on it were one-of-a-kind. A robins-egg blue that matched her eyes. The pants were a shimmering white.

They didn't supply shoes, but Azizah knew that she was supposed to go barefoot. She glanced sadly back at her blue moccasins. A gift from her mother. Somehow, she had known exactly what shade of blue to make them to match Azizah's eyes.

Someone was knocking on the wall next to the curtain. After one last look in the mirror, admiring her new clothes, she called, "Come on in."

It was Taralee. "Hello, princess. Are you ready for me to paint your face?"

Azizah smiled. "Of course." As she sat down on the bench, she said, "And, please, call me Azi."

Taralee looked surprised, but she still gave a hesitant smile. "Okay. But only if you call me Tara."

"Sure, whatever you say, oh revered ceremonial painter."

They both laughed as Taralee took out her paint. It was black.

Taralee dipped her finger into the creamy substance, explaining, "This stuff is made of certain plants and other things – secret ingredients – that are all mushed together to make this pasty stuff." She sniffed it, making a face. "It smells like dirt though. You'll probably want to shower afterwards."

Azizah snorted, laughing. "So much for sacred, ceremonial paint."

The lights in Taralee's eyes danced. "Ah, but that's the thing. It's special. This stuff directs the flow of aura through the body." she explained cheerfully. In one hand, she held the little bowl of paint, and the pointer finger of her other hand spread the paste across Azizah's cheek .

"This stuff is half the ceremony, you know. It changes, depending on what color your aura is. Pretty cool. Everyone has aura, but only royalty can actually use it for anything, as you probably know. Speaking of which, you can use your aura for magic, can't you?" Taralee asked excitedly.

"Yep. Would you like a demonstration?"

Taralee grinned so wide, it looked as if her mouth would fall off. "Yes, please! After the painting, of course?"

"Sure. Oh, and by the way... could you keep those moccasins for me? They're kind of special." Azizah asked hesitantly.

"Of course I can."

After a few minutes of Taralee chattering endlessly as she painted, she put the black paste away and announced that she was finished.

Azizah turned, looked in the mirror, and gasped in surprise.

Two black lines, as thick as her wrist, started below her jaw and extended up across each side of her face, following her cheekbones. They both ended in a point, right below her eyes. Two other lines, as thick as her finger, started under her chin and extended up towards each side of her mouth. A small smudge, shaped like a diamond with a hole through the middle, went from the middle of her forehead to the bridge of her nose.

_It's definitely exotic_, she thought in awe. _I look like a whole different person._

Taralee tilted her head slightly. "Like it? Now that that's over with, can you show me some aura tricks?"

Smiling mischievously, Azizah turned to look at Taralee. "Here goes."

Azizah held her hand out and focused hard on the mirror. Her eyes narrowed, and her hand suddenly began to pulse an odd blue color. The mirror started to ripple, like the surface of a pond. Taralee gasped, and reached out to stroke it. As her fingers brushed the surface, little trails of silver light marked their path. After a while, the blue light started to fade and the mirror returned to normal. "Amazing." The painter breathed.

A chime sounded., and Taralee sighed. "Go on, Azi. That's your cue to get out of here. Nice meeting you, and thanks for the show!"

Azizah walked towards the doorway. "And you." She replied smiling.

All the fledgling graduates were clustered in the field when Azizah left the building. Most of them were admiring other fledgling's paint. Some of the paint had started to turn different colors, to the amazement of the other graduates.

"Oh, Azi! There you are!"

Ravyn ran towards Azizah. Ravyn's shirt was lavender-colored, and her pants were black. The marks on her face ran down the outside edges of her eyes and disappeared under her jawline, like tear stains. A thin black line ran along the eyelashes on her upper eyelids. Another line went up from under her chin and continued in a straight line over her bottom lip. It made her look really sad, completely in contrast to her lopsided smile. The paint had a purplish sheen t it. Before she could say anything, another familiar voice rang out above the chattering.

"I've been looking everywhere for you two."

Lyall emerged from the crowd. What looked like a plus sign was spread across his freckled face; the horizontal line went from the top of one ear to the top of the other, and the vertical line cut across his right eye, top-to-bottom. His pants were a rich yellow-gold color and his shirt was grass green. He kept glancing around, like someone was about to leap out and scare him.

"The painter guy they set me with? He's crazy. He kept muttering something about going down the mountain, and then he stared at me. The way his eyes were, you could tell he was blind. But he just kept staring. Like, the whole time. It was the creepiest 5 minutes of my life. He painted pretty well though, for a blind guy, I'll give him that." He shivered. "I got out of there as fast as I could. Great to back with my little group of sane people. Or, at least, partially sane people." He gave Azizah a pointed look.

Before she could reply with something sassy, the flight teacher walked out of the painting building.

"Obviously, if we're going to perform the ceremony of flight, then you must all learn to fly. You can't use your wings yet, but I'm going to go ahead and tell you how."

All the graduates leaned in order to hear every word.

**BTW people when Azizah Lyall and Ravyn met, they were 8. Forgot to mention that.**


	7. Chapter 6

**For those of you who are still reading this, thanks. I have good news: the horribly boring setting up part of the story is pretty much over. Now it gets exciting. Sorry for the wait. Here you are! :)**

POV Azizah

The residents of the village had begun to make their way into the clearing, clustering around the west side, by the painter's hut. The graduates had hardly noticed them, however, since they were to busy chattering among themselves.

"I wonder what we're supposed to do, exactly. I mean, we fly and stuff, obviously, but where? Do we have to perform? I hope not. That would just be weird." Lyall muttered nervously. Like he had been doing for the last half an hour.

Azizah glanced at Ravyn. She looked worried, but that was nothing to go by, since she always looked worried these days.

_What's the point in checking? Everyone's nervous._ Azizah thought. _I know I'm nervous. There probably isn't anything to be nervous about, but, on the other hand, who knows?_

She cleared her throat. Lyall shut up – finally – and glared at her. "What is it?" He practically snarled.

_Well._ "I was just wondering how you were doing." _And you look like you need something else to think about besides the ceremony._

His face softened. "I'm just worried is all. Sorry for snapping at you."

"It's okay. I'm worried too."

Ravyn rolled her eyes. "You think? We're all worried... What do you think we're gonna have to do?"

Suddenly, all the people in the clearing quieted. Azizah looked around a group of girls to see what was going on.

The flight teacher was walking briskly out from the forest on the east side of the clearing. She gestured for the graduates to line themselves up. As they got into position, she addressed the gathered villagers.

"Greetings, friends." She started. "Soon we will begin this year's flight ceremony. I'm sure you all remember your own." This brought nods and smiles from the audience. "However, every ceremony is different, as you know, so the procedure itself will be as much of a surprise to this year's graduates as it is to you." She turned to the graduates, who were now in a line on the north side of the clearing.

"I have hidden a small orb for each of you in the forest." She gestured towards the southern side of the clearing, where the forest was the thickest.

Azizah let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Then she smiled. _Oh good,_ she thought, relieved, _that's gonna be easier than I imagined._

"Your task is to find your specific orb." The teacher smiled cheerfully.

Azizah glanced sidelong at Ravyn. Her violet eyes had gone as big as dinner plates. Suddenly she shut her eyes and groaned, muttering, "Ah, crap."

"Your orb matches your shirt in color. Once you find it, take it to the roof of the painter's hut." She pointed. "There is one rule: If you find another graduate's orb, DO NOT MOVE IT. This will result in immediate expulsion. Oh, and injuring your fellow graduates is highly discouraged. Are we clear?" She walked to the tree line and, turning to face the graduates once more, said, "Cheating is not acceptable behavior. Don't get any funny ideas. Go ahead and start anytime, but remember: I'll be watching you." She smiled, but in the weak forest light, she looked frightening. Then she spun on her heels, and seemed to fade into the shadows.

* * *

><p>POV Lyall<p>

Lyall closed his eyes, desperately trying to recall exactly what the flight teacher had said. _First, picture yourself with wings._ Lyall frowned in concentration. That didn't seem hard. He pictured a random pair of wings and mentally stuck them on his back. A few seconds passed with nothing happening. Lyall was about to try again, when he felt a sharp pain slice through his back.

He flinched, opening his eyes. _Well, that failed,_ he thought dryly. Then he saw Azizah's face.

Her eyes were big and staring, and her mouth hung slightly agape. "What's wrong?" He asked her. When she didn't answer, he followed her gaze, turning to look behind him. Then he saw what she was gaping at. "Oh." He said meekly.

Where there had been nothing but air before, a huge white wing had extended from his back. He stared at it, not quite sure what to do.

Behind Azizah, Ravyn had extended her wings without even closing her eyes. They were smaller than Lyall's, and a deep shade of violet, almost black. Her wings matched her face paint, which had fully changed color.

Ravyn started at a walk, her wings slowly lengthening. As she began to run, she leaned over, and jumped, and her wings fully extended, carrying her out over the southern forest.

_Think of the wings as an extension of your body, another limb_, the teacher had said. Lyall thought about his wings extending, and they shot out, nearly decapitating the princess. Luckily, she dodged at the last second.

"What, are you trying to kill me?" She demanded, brushing herself off. By now, she had extended her own wings. They were mid-sized, with a silvery sheen that made them sparkle in the sunlight. She had about a 13 foot wingspan, while he had about a 15 foot.

Something occurred to him. "Hey, Azi."

She was busy admiring her new wings. "Yeah?"

"You owe me 3 kaytos."

POV Ravyn

* * *

><p>Ran through the trees, going full steam, closing off all her senses except for her ears, listening for enemies as she sped across the forest floor. Ravyn loved the forest; it was where she grew up. She was on her turf. But, at the moment, it seemed as if her turf was on their side.<p>

_I can't hear them, she thought, but I know they're there. They're always there. Especially here, in their territory._ She leaped over a fallen log. _Why can't they just stay in their territory?_

She picked up someone's scent. Stopping in her tracks, she flattened herself against a tree, and listened for a sign of movement. It wasn't hard, whoever was making the noise was really clumsy. _Probably wasn't an enemy._ She took a deep breath through her nose, sampling the air, and let it out in a sigh of relief. _Human. The scent is human. A graduate._ She bit her lip._ They're making so much noise. I bet every creature in the forest can hear them. _

_Especially the enemy._

_How could Conan allow this?_ She thought angrily. _The graduates are sitting ducks, out here in the southern forest. They're so loud, a blind man could find them._

Ravyn picked up the pace, ears open for any sign of the enemy.

She was looking for something far more dangerous than blind men.

**More action is coming, I promise. Review please!** **(this means you, Riley! lol)**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hello peoples. I was gonna move this to fictionpress but i'm too lazy to move it and so it's still here. Yeah.** **Sorry bout that.**

POV Lyall

Lyall scanned the treetops for a good entry point. He needed somewhere where he could get his whole body, including his wings, through the canopy and onto the forest floor. He did this kind of absently, however; he was busy thinking about what he would do with the 3 kaytos Azi had grudgingly coughed up.

_3 kaytos would buy a new shirt,_ he thought excitedly, _or I could buy a new pair of shoes._ He shifted his wings to catch the wind._ Not that I'll be using them that often, having wings and all._

Lyall loved flying. He felt free, like he could go anywhere, do anything he wanted. He smiled into the wind. It felt absolutely amazing.

He saw a break in the trees, just big enough for him to fit through. He folded his wings slightly against his body, and dove towards the opening. As he broke through the canopy, he found that the trees were a lot shorter than they looked from up high, and landed less than gracefully in a big pile of leaves.

Spitting leaves out of his mouth, he checked his wings for damage. His right wing seemed okay, but when his left wing moved, pain shot down his spine. _Oh, well, that's just great,_ He thought. _I'm stranded in the middle of a creepy forest with no shoes and a useless wing. Perfect. Doesn't get any better than this._ Brushing himself off, he looked around, trying to figure out what direction was north. The ground wasn't slanted enough to tell, and the forest looked the same everywhere he turned. He sighed. _Climbing a tree is my best bet,_ he decided. _That way, I can see which way up the mountain._ He walked up to the tallest tree in sight and started climbing.

He was actually a pretty good climber, considering he lived in a tree. His feet automatically found the perfect footholds, and soon, he was at the top.

He gazed out, and tried to memorize the direction of the peak. It was pretty far away. But he wasn't going to the peak so he didn't worry. The ground got steeper the closer you got to the clearing, but once you got there, the ground leveled out.

He memorized the location and climbed back down. He was about to turn and leave, when he thought he saw a flash of bright green out of the corner of his eye. He peered through squinted eyes, and saw that it wasn't a plant. It was round. An orb.

He smiled triumphantly. His shirt was bright green, the exact same color. He ran up and crouched down to examine it.

The orb looked to be made of glass, with a smoky green inside. It was small, about twice the size of his fist, easily carried while flying.

He picked it up. It was slightly warm to the touch.

Looking around, he realized that his orb was in a really easy to find spot. The only reason he didn't see it before was because he was focused no remembering which direction the peak was in.

_Ah, crap._ He mentally slapped his forehead. _I forgot which way is north._

He looked around on the ground, retracing his steps. Then, he noticed that there was someone else's tracks beside where he found the orb. They were too small to be the teacher's. As he leaned in for a closer look, he saw something on the ground beside where his orb was. It was a feather.

A purple feather. He reached down to pick it up, but paused. He recognized it from somewhere.

_Who would move his orb to make it easier to find?_

A branch snapped behind him. He spun, his grip tight on his orb. He was not going to lose it.

Another branch snapped, off to his left. He turned towards the new direction, glancing around nervously.

_It's probably just another graduate, pulling pranks,_ He thought, trying to calm down._ Just a graduate._

"Look, if this is supposed to be a joke, it's not funny." He said, trying to sound annoyed.

"I'm not laughing." A little girl's voice replied.

Lyall's eyes widened in horror. It would sound innocent or playful, but it was... off.

And then a huge black wolf sauntered out from behind a nearby bush, it's intelligent gaze fixed on Lyall. "And you shouldn't either.", the voice continued. It lowered it's huge body, backing up slightly, clearly ready to pounce. And then it smiled.

A disturbing, twisted version of a smile, that revealed sharp teeth.

Red eyes gleaming, it spoke again.

"Because you've got nowhere to run."

POV Azizah

Azizah ran through the forest, scanning the bushes for even a hint of blue. So far all she'd found were 4 blue flowers, 2 blue butterflies, and a blue bandanna.

She looked up through the canopy. The sunlight was filtered between the branches, giving the already gloomy forest a creepy feel.

_This isn't half as awesome as I thought it was going to be,_ she thought sadly. _My feet hurt. I'm going to try flying._

She dashed forward, extending her wings like she saw Lyall do. I can do this, she thought.

She lifted off... and ran face first into a tree with and THUD.

She groaned. _Note to self – Flying does not work in thick forest._

After getting up and brushing herself off, she glared up into the tree branches. Then an idea came to her. _What if I climb a tree? Then I can see more of the land. Not like I have any other ideas._

She looked for a good tree to climb, and saw the perfect one. It was both tall and wide, and it had plenty of footholds. She started climbing, scampering up to the top in seconds. She found the perfect perch, and scanned the area for blue. Finally, she saw a spot of blue, in a little patch of grass. She was about to yelp with joy, when she saw a flash of red-blond hair. She ducked, waiting to see who it was.

Another graduate, his orb under his arm, was strolling in the direction of the painter's hut, when he noticed Azizah's blue orb. He looked left and right, then picked up her orb. He held both his and her orb out, comparing them.

Azizah was burning with anger. _That is my orb, you jerk, _she fumed._ Keep your grubby hands off it._

The boy started to roll her orb in the mud, disguising the color. He was laughing quietly to himself.

_Oh. No. You. Didn't._

A plan slowly worked itself out in the princess's head. It was fairly simple, but it made her smile in evil anticipation.

She positioned herself above the boy's head, gave a blood-curdling war cry, and then dropped.

**More story coming soon. Review! :)**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hello. I don't really have anything to say, so I'll stop wasting your time. On with the story.  
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POV Lyall

Before Lyall could scream (which he was seriously about to do), the wolf, a dark blur, leaped into the air – only to be intercepted by a winged girl, slamming into it with so much force that they both flew about 8 feet to Lyall's left before crashing into the ground. Lyall was about to yell out a warning to the girl, when he realized that he recognized her. And her purple wings.

The wolf snarled in frustration, tearing at Ravyn's throat with it's teeth. She was fast, as fast as the beast, and dodged most of it's attacks.

"Who are you?" The wolf snarled, backing away from Ravyn, glaring at her.

Lyall looked at Ravyn, and realized that she looked about as scary as the wolf. There was something deadly and cold in the way she held herself, her hands clutching a pair of twin daggers that Lyall didn't know she had. Her mouth was set in a cold line. Her eyes were narrowed and calculating, and Lyall could've sworn that they had a reddish tint.

The kind, awkward, and painfully shy girl Lyall knew was gone.

In her place was a beast.

Ravyn opened her mouth as if to answer, but instead, a flurry of odd noises seemed to flow off her tongue. After a few seconds, Lyall realized she was speaking a different language, one that consisted of a lot of hissing.

The wolf obviously understood her. It looked surprised for a moment, then it growled warily, "Why should I?"

Ravyn glanced at Lyall and continued to speak in the unknown language.

The wolf looked just looked angrier, hackles raised. "He was in my clan's territory. Why shouldn't I kill him?"

Ravyn's eyes narrowed, and she answered in the unknown language, rapid-fire, glaring at the beast.

The wolf's reply was smug. "Go ahead and try." It said in it's creepy little girl voice.

When Ravyn did nothing, it leaped at her.

Ravyn jumped to the side, slashing the dagger down the wolf's side as it passed.

Blood spurted from the gash onto the ground, and the wolf screeched in pain. It spun on Ravyn, who had taken a defensive stance, daggers ready.

The beast's wound looked shallow, but the knife had must have hit an artery, by the way blood was spilling out and turning the muddy forest floor red. the wolf's breathing was ragged, and it was hunched up, slowly retreating into the forest. Ravyn made no move to stop it.

Before the wolf disappeared into the shadows, it turned to glare at Lyall and Ravyn.

"You have made an enemy of the House of Fire."

And then it turned tail and ran.

* * *

><p>POV Azizah<p>

Azizah would never forget the look in the boy's eyes as she fell.

It was a mixture of guilt, surprise, and fear. But mostly fear.

He echoed the princesses scream, and then she landed on him. Luckily for her, he made a wonderful cushion. After she landed, he scrambled out from under her, shouting obscenities. That is, until he turned around and saw who his attacker was.

"Oh, princess! What's going on? Did you fall?..." He trailed off when he saw the color on her shirt. He looked down at her orb, which he'd dropped, and back at her shirt. He paled considerably.

"I-I'm sorry, I d-didn't know, I, uh..."

Azizah smiled sweetly, and said, "Oh, you didn't know? Or you didn't care. Oh, well." She picked up her orb, wiped it off in his hair, and kicked his orb into a mud puddle as she left.

Feeling quite pleased with herself, she studied her reflection in her orb.

_I wonder how the others are doing?_ She wondered absently.

* * *

><p>POV Lyall<p>

There was an awkward silence. Part of it was that Lyall didn't know what to say. The other part was that Ravyn seemed busy listening to something, tensed, head cocked to one side. Lyall couldn't hear anything, but after seeing the vicious display earlier, he wasn't about to bug her.

She suddenly relaxed, her breath coming out in a rush. "She left." Ravyn said, obviously relieved. She swayed, reaching out her hand to a tree, trying to steady herself. After she looked a little stronger, she stopped leaning against the tree, and turned her gaze towards Lyall. He realized that she was in pain.

The girl was breathing hard, clutching her lower shoulder with one hand. Blood oozed between her fingers, leaving bright red streaks running down her arm. Lyall stared at the blood. He must not have noticed it; he had kind of distracted.

Finally, he asked hesitantly, "...Are you okay?" and then realized it was kind of a stupid question.

"Don't touch the blood. It's poisonous." She said through gritted teeth. She gestured with a tilt of her head towards the puddle of wolf blood, which, Lyall realized with a start, was bubbling slightly.

"Can you tear a strip off my shirt? I need to bind this." She murmured, lifting her injured shoulder.

Lyall didn't really like, or trust, this new Ravyn. _But she did save his life after all..._ "Uh, sure?"

He walked up to her. On closer inspection, she seemed dizzy and unfocused. Her skin was so pale it seemed almost see-through. Lyall ripped a long piece of fabric off the bottom of her shirt and then hesitated, unsure of what to do.

Ravyn shook her head, as if clearing it, and then took her hand off the wound. The skin around it was red and swollen, and the cut itself was jagged and... sizzling. Lyall blinked. As little medical knowledge he had, he still knew that wounds were not supposed to sizzle.

"Saliva.. poison... too." she panted. Lyall nodded, understanding. The wolf had tried to tear her throat with it's teeth, but had missed and got her shoulder instead.

He was about to wrap it, but Ravyn pulled a small bottle out of her shirt, and gestured for him to uncork it. He did, and when he handed it back, she took a sip, and immediately seemed to look better.

He bound her wound, tying it tight. She sighed tiredly, leaning against the tree for support. Some of the color was returning to her cheeks.

A few moments passed, while Ravyn was catching her breath. Then she gave a wry smile. "Well. This is kind of awkward."

_Understatement,_ Lyall thought miserably. _Major understatement._

**The story will be continued soon! REVIEW! X3**


	10. Chapter 9

**Hello. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy. My house flooded, and I've been spending most of my time cleaning it up. **

**Anyway...**

POV Lyall

Most of the graduates were bragging about how easy-to-find their orbs were. Ravyn and Lyall were off in one corner, silent.

Lyall fidgeted. _Where's Azizah?_ He thought, worried. _She should be here by now. What if she got lost? What if she doesn't get to graduate? What if she can't find her orb?_ Then an even worse thought came to him._ Oh, no. What if the wolves got her? What if–_

"There you are!" Azizah's cheery voice shattered his gloomy thoughts.

Lyall looked up, relieved. "Oh, hi!"

Azizah smiled. "I had an interesting time in the forest. That place is scary."

Lyall bit his lip to keep from laughing hysterically. _If only you knew._

Ravyn gave a big smile, and hugged the princess. She looked like her old self, but Lyall wasn't fooled. He'd never see that girl the same way again.

Azizah must have seen Lyall's expression, because she looked concerned. "Lyall? Is something wrong?..."

"Nope. I'm fine." Lyall had decided not to tell Azizah anything. At least until he saw Conan.

Azizah peeled Ravyn off, then saw her wound, and her eyes widened. "Ravyn! What happened? Who did this? I'll beat them up for you."

Picturing Azizah scolding the wolf for hurting her adopted sister, Lyall almost laughed. He could imagine it quite clearly.

Ravyn smiled sadly. "I just tripped. I'm going to go talk to Conan about it now. Bye!"

Azizah's eyebrows furrowed in suspicion. "Okay. Be careful..."

Lyall hurried off, following Ravyn before the princess could ask any more questions.

* * *

><p>POV Lyall<p>

Lyall was worried.

He was an orphan. His parents had disappeared into the forest long ago. As long as he could remember, Conan was like a father to him.

Now, Lyall had no idea what to expect.

When they arrived at Conan's hut, their leader was smiling happily. Turning to them, he asked, "Nice to see you! Looks like Ravyn got herself a little scraped up. The medicinal supplies are in the drawer, as always." Still smiling, he glanced expectantly at Lyall, as if waiting for him to leave.

Rooting through the medicine supplies, Ravyn said flatly, "Cut the crap, Conan. He saw."

Conan blinked, and his smile became strained. "Saw what?" he asked casually.

"I think you know exactly what he saw."

Lyall just watched this exchange, bewildered.

The weird cheery expression fell from their leader's face. "Ah. Well then." He said wearily.

Conan sat at the big table in the middle of his hut. Ravyn joined him, a jar of green creamy stuff in hand. Lyall figured that he was supposed to sit too, so he did.

As she was applying the cream onto her wound, which was no longer sizzling, Ravyn said, "He was looking for his orb, which I had moved to a location that was easier to find. There was a wolf stalking him, and I got there just in time to intercept it–"

Conan groaned. "Ravyn, you aren't supposed to–"

This time, it was Ravyn's turn to interrupt him. "What would you rather have me do? Just let him die?" She growled furiously, eyes narrowed. Lyall was sure that her eyes had a reddish tint.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Conan rested his face in his hands. "What a mess. Do you know what clan the wolf you fought was from?"

Ravyn hesitated. "Fire. She said, 'You have made and enemy of the house of Fire.'"

Conan's eyes widened slightly. "Did you say 'she'? How old was the wolf?"

"Young. Definitely a girl."

Conan groaned. "A young girl in the Fire clan who speaks with that kind of authority. That could only be his daughter." He cursed. "You should have killed her while you had the chance."

Ravyn looked worried. "Do you know her?"

"No, but I know her father."

"And?"

"And now I wouldn't walk around in the woods alone if I were you."

Lyall was getting tired of this talk that made no sense to him. "Uh, hello? I'm right here. And I want answers."

Turning to him, Lyall saw that Conan's eyes showed how completely hopeless he felt.

Conan took a deep breath, calming himself. "Okay, here's the deal. You know how our village is on the south side of the mountain?"

Lyall nodded.

"Well, have you ever wondered what was on the north side? Or the east side? What about the west side? This is just one mountain. What else is out there, down in the valleys and forests and oceans?"

"No, I've never really thought about any of that."

Conan sighed. "What you saw today was something that lives down the mountain. They have lived there for centuries, and only recently they figured out what lives up the mountain. Strange, fair-haired creatures that can fly. Monsters."

Lyall hesitated. "Us? But we're not–"

"Pretend that you're one of those wolves. What would we be?"

"I don't know. I'm not one of those monsters..." Lyall frowned. "Oh."

Conan smiled sadly. "Exactly."

"Those aren't wolves, are they?" Lyall asked, already suspecting the answer.

Laughing, Conan said sarcastically, "Observant little bugger, aren't you?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"They're people. Usually."

Lyall didn't like where this conversation was headed. "Explain. Please."

"They're people, but they're also wolves. They can change between both forms whenever they want."

"Wolf-people. You know, if I hadn't seen that... wolf today, I wouldn't have believed you."

Conan smiled dryly. "Neither would anyone else. That's why it's such a big secret."

"Who else is in on it?"

"Me, obviously. Ravyn. Azizah's mother, Queen Zephyr, knew too."

Lyall frowned. "That's it? I thought there would be more, considering the fact that they're attacking people."

Ravyn piped up. "And why did you allow the ceremony to be held in the southern forest, of all places? It's, like, a wolf hotspot."

Conan sighed. "I tried to get the flight teacher to have it somewhere else, but she's just so darn stubborn."

"You could have ordered her to do it somewhere else..."

"That would have looked too suspicious. She might have wanted to investigate," Conan answered. "Besides, I knew you could handle it."

Ravyn looked annoyed. "My sad excuse for a bow is being fixed, and I ran out of arrows anyway. Did you really think I could fight them with a pair of daggers?"

"You did."

"And look how that turned out." She pointed at her cut for emphasis.

Conan stood. "Speaking of which, let's have a look at that."

He poked and prodded the wound for a little while, then straightened. "Looks okay. Be careful with it, and it should heal in no time."

Ravyn walked out, but Lyall wanted to ask one more question. "Conan?"

"Yes?"

"Why can't I tell Azizah?"

Conan frowned, turning away slightly. The dim light from the window cast shadows around his eyes, making him look creepy. Shifty, even.

"Just don't. It's better that she not know."

Lyall frowned, frustrated. "Why not?"

"She'll ask questions."

"So?"

"When I can't give her the answers, she'll go looking for them."

"And?..."

"And I'm afraid that instead of her finding them, the answers will find her."

* * *

><p>POV Azizah<p>

_First Ravyn, now Lyall. What's going on?_

Azizah glided above the treetops. The ceremony was over, and she was officially a member of the village, but she wasn't as satisfied as she thought she would feel. The way her friends had acted worried her.

_You probably look just like Ravyn,_ she thought dryly. _All worried over nothing._

She couldn't help but feel jealous. The way it looked, Ravyn had let Lyall in on a secret. One that she hadn't bothered to tell Azizah, who was practically her family.

Azizah shook her head. _I shouldn't be thinking like that. It's just petty and stupid. I'm better than that._

"Azi! There you are. We've been looking everywhere for you!"

Slowing down, Azizah smiled happily. She recognized the voice. _They haven't forgotten about me!_

Lyall came up beside her. "You look upset. Is something wrong?"

"Nah. I'm just glad you're here."

Ravyn appeared silently on Azizah's other side, scaring her. "Could you just stop doing that?" Azizah snapped, irritated.

Ravyn looked like a whipped puppy. Immediately regretting her snappishness, Azizah said hurriedly, "I didn't mean to be grumpy. You just scared me, that's all."

"Do either of you know how to get back to the cabins?" Lyall asked suddenly.

Azizah stopped in her tracks. Blushing, she muttered, "I was flying. Must've lost my way."

Ravyn smiled. "We're not used to traveling above the trees. Let's see, we came from that direction..."

The princess remembered something. "There's a shortcut through the thick forest over there to the left–"

Lyall cut her off. "No more gloomy woods for me, thank you very much."

"Afraid of the dark?" Azizah asked slyly.

"Uh... well... yeah. I guess." He glanced off to one side, the way they did when he lied.

Ravyn was still smiling. "I've had enough trees and mud for one day. We have our whole life ahead of us to explore the forest, right?"

Azizah smiled at Lyall's horrified expression.

They laughed and joked for a few hours, flying in circles, until Conan found them. And then they were all laughing as Conan showed them how to do flips, and Lyall tried to copy them, often failing.

Azizah laughed right along with them. _No matter how weird they're acting, they're my friends, and I wouldn't give them up for anything,_ she decided, watching Lyall crash less than gracefully into a tree.

_And I'll stick with them until the end._

**Aw, how cute. ^^ I like Azizah**

**Review! (Remember, I need bunny names!)  
><strong>


	11. Chapter 10

**Sorry this is so late. Guess who lost their flash drive again? *facepalm*  
><strong>

**How many of you are reading the hunger games? i love the hunger games. I'm writing a fanfic for them. **

**anyway...**

3 years later

* * *

><p>POV Azizah<p>

"Happy birthday, Azi!"

Azizah moaned. She didn't even have to open her eyes to guess who it was.

Lyall leaned closer, breath warm against her ear. "Come on, princess. Early morning: It's a birthday tradition."

"If I throw a stick, will you leave?" she growled, unmoving.

"That's a good one. Did it come to you in a dream?"

She grunted, sitting up groggily. "Alright, I'm up. What do you want?"

He grinned. "It's Conan. He wanted to see us in that one clearing behind his cabin."

Azizah rose, running her fingers through her hopelessly tangled hair. "And I thought getting my own house after the ceremony would give me some privacy," she grumbled.

"Tough. Are you ready yet?"

When they got to the clearing, Ravyn was already there. Her dark hair hung loose, and she wore dark colors. Her baggy pants looked comfy, and her shirt was casual, not unlike the style Azizah was wearing.

Ravyn smiled at them. "Morning, sleepyhead."

"Morning."

"So, birthday girl, how does it feel to be 16?" Lyall said, teasing. He was seventeen. So he was the oldest, and he made sure everyone knew it.

Azizah matched his playful tone. "I don't know. Tell me, how does it feel to be a b–"

"That's enough of that." Conan emerged from the trees, giving Azizah a pointed look.

"We were just messing around–"

"And now you're not." He glanced around. "Looks like everyone's here. Come on, I have something to show you." Conan walked away, not waiting to see if they were following.

"Wait for us!" Azizah ran to catch up, followed closely by Lyall and Ravyn.

Conan led them to his cabin. Inside, he pulled out a big chest, and started rummaging through it.

"Whatcha got there?" Azizah tried to see past him.

Conan pulled out something. Walking over to Ravyn, he handed it to her.

She took the bow and quiver, looking at them in awe. "They're beautiful. Are they for me?"

"Yes."

Ravyn strapped the quiver to her back, careful not to catch her hair on the purple-feathered arrows. The quiver fit perfectly. "I'm assuming it's for archery lessons?"

"Correct. Now it's Lyall's turn."Conan said, retrieving another item from the chest.

Azizah frowned. _I'm always last,_ she pouted silently.

Conan handed him a long, thin object, wrapped in cloth. Lyall held it like it was a poisonous snake. Carefully, he unwrapped it, eyes widening when he saw the gold-and-green gift.

"A... a sword?" Lyall pulled the weapon out of it's sheath.

Conan looked amused. "What, you think I didn't notice the interest you took in fencing?"

Lyall's cheeks reddened.

Their leader turned to Azizah, eyes shining. "Last but not least, we have the princess Azizah." Turning, he grabbed the last item. Holding it out to her, Azizah saw that it was a... stick.

He had given her a walking stick. Wow.

She took it hesitantly. "A stick. Um, thanks. I think."

Conan laughed. "It's not just a stick. Remember the face paint you got during the ceremony 3 years ago?"

"Yeah? What about it?"

He nodded towards her gift. "That has some of the same ingredients. It directs your aura through your body, helping to intensify and control your magic."

Azizah looked closer at the surface of the stick. It had swirly designs traced on it. Pointing it at a leaf on the floor, she focused her energy. It lit on fire almost effortlessly.

"Okay, so it's a magic stick." She said while Lyall frantically stamped out the flames.

"The technical term is "bow" or "staff"."

"Sure. Thank you." Azizah said absently, her finger tracing the swirls on her new "staff". Suddenly, she looked up. "Why do we need these things, anyway? I don't plan on frying someone with a magic stick anytime soon."

As Conan shooed them out, he said, "Staff, my dear. It's a staff."

Walking into the forest, Azizah realized that he hadn't answered her question.

* * *

><p>POV Lyall<p>

"Hold it firmly, like this. No, don't put your thumb there, you'll end up chopping it off."

Lyall glared at his fencing instructor. It had already been his third day, and Lyall had only learned how to handle the sword.

The sword. Lyall turned his gaze to the beautiful piece of metal in his hands. I_ still can't believe that he gave me this,_ he thought for the millionth time. _It must have cost a fortune. It's not like I've done anything to earn it. _He scanned the trees. _However, it might be useful for fighting off wolves..._

"You're holding it too loosely. Tighten your grip. Otherwise, it'll fly out of your hands."

_...once I learn how to use it. _Following his teachers instructions, he clenched his hands around the hilt.

"Now you're holding it too tight. You won't be able to swing effectively."

Lyall suppressed a sigh. _I hope the others are doing better than I am._

* * *

><p>POV Azizah<p>

_I hope the others are doing better than I am._

Azizah watched another leaf pile slowly burn and disappear, just like her patience. _ I'm getting tired of this,_ she thought angrily. _I try to blow away the leaves, they burn. I try to wash away the mud, it bakes and crumbles. I try to cook the bread, it scorches to black._ She resisted the urge to chuck the stick as far as she could. _What is with this stupid piece of wood and fire?_

Grumbling, she sat down on a nearby log. She took a deep breath and glared at her new staff, as if by doing so she could discern all it's secrets.

"Staring contest with a stick?"

Azizah jumped, cheeks reddening. "I... Uh..."

Taralee's amused face peered out from behind a tree. "I'd have to say that the stick won."

"Tara?"

Azizah's friend walked over. "The one and only. How's it going? You look pretty frustrated." she said curiously.

Azizah had visited Taralee often in the past few years, and they had become really good friends. "Well, see, I got this staff from Conan the other day, and it's supposed to be a magical weapon."

"Looks like a stick to me."

Azizah smiled. "Exactly. But watch this." She pointed her staff at a patch of dry grass, and it burst into blue flames.

"Oooh, pretty! Can you light other things on fire?" Taralee said excitedly.

"Yeah, but that's the problem. All it does is _burn_ things."

"Since when is being able to start fires on command a bad thing?" Taralee was still staring at the burning grass.

Azizah was about to answer, then stopped. _Maybe I'm taking this for granted,_ she thought. _I should be thankful I got such an awesome gift._

Taralee yawned. "Well, I'd better be going. Promised my mother I'd help her with the baby. See you soon, Azi!"

"Yeah. See you."

As her friend left, Azizah had an idea. She started to focus her energy like she would normally, but this time she shaped her aura a little differently before letting it loose.

There was a flash of bright light, along with a blast of heat, and Azizah fell backwards onto the ground in surprise.

_What the heck?_

Sitting up cautiously, she peered over the side of the log.

Where moments before there had been a tree, there was now a smoldering pile of wood. Blue flames danced along it's length.

_Did I do that?_ Azizah wondered. _I must have. There's no nearby lightning storms. Besides, that was too well timed to be a coincidence._

Fetching her staff, which she'd dropped, Azizah fingered the swirling designs. _At least the tree didn't just light on fire. It's a start._

She glanced back at the remains of the unfortunate tree.

_I'd better be careful with this thing. I might light someone else on fire._

Her lips curled into a mischievous smile.

_This stick thing just got much more interesting._

* * *

><p>POV Lyall<p>

After changing into a pair of shorts, Lyall headed down the path towards the hot spring. The path was well worn; soaking in the spring was a favorite pastime among the village. Lyall himself went there often, especially when he was really tired or had sore muscles.

He glanced around the forest nervously. The forest didn't used to freak him out this much. Now, he would never forget how that wolf-person had looked at him, it's sharp teeth gleaming...

_Don't think about that. _He hurried on, listening intently for any sign of a wolf attack. He had his sword with him, as usual, but he wasn't exactly masterfully skilled in sword fighting. He could hold it. That's about it. So he was relieved to see the break in the trees which meant that he had arrived at the spring.

It was a relatively large spring, 20 feet in diameter. Thankful that he was the only one there, Lyall ran to his favorite spot, and placed his sword on the edge of the spring. Then he eased into the warm water, instantly relaxing. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath of steamy air, and relished in the heat. After a few minutes, he got this weird feeling, like he was floating.

His eyes shot open. He wasn't going up; the water level was going down.

Automatically reaching for his sword, he almost slipped on the wet surface of the rocks. He steadied himself. The water had gone down about 3 inches.

He glanced around, and paused when he saw a huge sphere of water, 5 feet in diameter, getting bigger by the second. It was levitating, and a stream of water was sucking the contents of the spring up into the orb. Behind the orb stood a single figure, new staff in hand.

"Azi! Cut that out! I'm trying to relax over here." Lyall shouted, grumpy now that his relaxing afternoon in the hot spring had been ruined.

She didn't even turn to look at him. "Magic studies take priority over relaxing. You want to soak, then go soak your head."

Lyall started to wade closer, bringing his sword with him. The water had gone down another inch. He was getting really annoyed.

"I'm getting better at this. Remember my thirteenth birthday "party"? I could barely keep a little one up. Now look! This is easy." She beamed.

Lyall faltered. She didn't look like she was having any trouble levitating all that water. Not even a drop of sweat. He frowned, even angrier now that she had managed to distract him from his grumpiness.

"I said, cut that out! Put the water back. I was here first."

She smiled smugly. "Make me."

Before he knew what he was doing, Lyall tore his sword from it's sheath and pierced the blob of water right through the middle, completely soaking a very surprised-looking Azizah from head to toe.

Lyall roared with laughter at the look on her face, previous anger forgotten. "Speaking of your thirteenth birthday," he said, "I believe this is the second time I have used your magical talent against you."

She frowned, trying to look unhappy, but couldn't quite hide the laughter in her eyes. "You're a turd, you know that?"

"How could I forget? You remind me, like, every day."

She looked at him for a moment, and turned away, blushing furiously. "I have to go. Bye, Lyall."

"Bye." Lyall replied, amused by her reaction as she hurriedly ran off.

Then he shrugged, sinking into the water._ What I wouldn't give to know what's going on in that girl's head._

* * *

><p>POV Conan<p>

Conan breathed deeply, gazing out from the top branch of his favorite tree at the southern forest below.

_This is not going to end well,_ he noted sadly. _The truth will get out, destruction and sadness will follow closely._

_I wish she had just killed that wolf when she had the chance._

He watched Ravyn hit yet another bulls-eye with her new bow. _She looks just like her father. I wonder how he's doing? Things can't be going well over there. The Fire Clan is getting stronger by the day. Soon they will surpass the others, and we will have a problem. _He frowned, closing his eyes.

_It's only a matter of time._

__**BTW people it's my birthday today. yeah. happy birthday to moi. ^^ REVIEW!  
><strong>


	12. Chapter 11

**OMFG**

**It's been, like, almost 2 years since I last updated this story. I reread it, and realized how different I am now than I was then. Major mind****.**

**I couldn't remember how the story ends, as it is pretty complicated, but I had a dream, and it all came back. And now, I am continuing it.**

**So here it is. Ascend, continued:**

* * *

><p><span>POV Azizah<span>

"Princess Azizah!"

Azizah turned, startled.

An older woman ran up to her, gasping. "My granddaughter," she said between shallow breaths. "She's sick. She really needs help, and soon!"

The woman led Azizah to one of the higher huts, so they had to fly up.

A small baby lie on a pile of blankets, struggling to breathe. Azizah crouched next to it.

"No, princess! Don't touch." The woman was frantic. "She might be contagious."

Azizah brushed the girl's hair out of her face anyway. "What happened?"

"A rare type of fever, is what I suspect. None of the conventional healing methods have worked."

Azizah turned, worried. "Conan's the healer. Why didn't you go to him?"

"He was busy training the dark-haired girl." The woman hesitated. "I know what herb to heal her with, a red clover-shaped thing, but I don't know where to find it."

"I'll fetch him." Azizah flew off.

* * *

><p>She landed next to the clearing where Ravyn usually trains. She was about to run in, when she heard voices. Curious, she leaned in to listen.<p>

"You've got a lot of skill with the bow, Ravyn." Conan's voice. Azizah kept listening.

"I guess. It should come in handy."

_For what? _Azizah's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Got that right. If my guess is correct, there's going to be some battles in the near future."

_What is he talking about? _

Ravyn's voice came soft. "What if we can't defeat them all, Conan?"

"We will," Conan said confidently. "You can do it."

"It's not just me."

Conan sighed. "Lyall will most likely be a great help, but Azizah doesn't have the heart to kill."

_Heart to kill? _Azizah was horrified.

Conan continued, "Especially after she finds out that–"

"I'm worried. The odds are against us, Conan." Ravyn interrupted him.

"You are the future of this village, Ravyn. Remember that."

"_You are the future of this village"? Does he mean–? _Azizah had heard enough. She walked briskly away, into the forest, somewhere she could think in peace.

But her thoughts were not peaceful.

_Does he plan to make her queen instead of me?_

Azizah was shocked. _And all this time I thought he was my friend. He was like a father to me. And what's all this "heart to kill" crap? Is he gonna make her queen because she's willing to kill people? What battles? There's no one to battle. _Azizah gasped. _Is he gonna start a civil war? Why would he do–?_

A bird call from the forest halted her storming thoughts. She remembered the sick child, and squared her shoulders in anger.

_I'll show him who deserves to be queen._

And with that, she marched off into the forest, eyes peeled for any sign of a red clover.

* * *

><p><span>POV Ravyn<span>

Ravyn bit her lip to keep from snarling.

"She went into the forest, I know she did," she hissed.

Lyall and Conan just stared at her.

Ravyn sighed. "I could hear" _and smell _"her eavesdropping, while we were talking about... my archery."

They just continued to stare blankly.

_Ugh. Men. They can be so slow._

Conan frowned. "You knew she was there," He said, looking pissed, "and you didn't tell me?"

"I still think that she should know about the wolves." Ravyn snapped.

Lyall and Conan glanced at each other. "You know she can't, Ravyn," Conan said gently, "that would only bring trouble. She's probably hanging out around the Tree." He smiled. "I'll go check my home, in case she's practicing with the staff or something."

Before Ravyn could explain her worries about her adopted sister, Conan flew off in the direction of his hut. Lyall gave her a reassuring smile, but it didn't help her mood at all.

Instead, Ravyn scowled, an expression she was getting used to lately. "Conan isn't listening to me. It's annoying."

"He's getting old, Ravyn. Look at the gray streaks in his hair. He's probably just... senile."

She snorted. "Conan? Senile? Where have _you_ been?"

Lyall laughed shortly "Touche."

Ravyn continued, "It's just that, well... what if Azi went into the forest?"

For a moment, Lyall's eyes flashed with something kindred to fear. He covered it with another charming smile. "She'll be fine. C'mon, let's go find her."

Lyall gracefully leaped into the air, leveling out to sail towards the Tree. Ravyn ran to catch up. She wasn't nearly as good of a flier as he was.

As she followed Lyall, horrible scenes that involved wolves, the princess, and lots of blood crept back into Ravyn's thoughts. She shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold.

_Where are you, Azi?_

* * *

><p><span>POV Azizah<span>

Azizah had no idea where she was.

"Stupid. Forest. Stupid. Conan. Stupid. Freaking. Tree!"

For every word, she kicked a tree in frustration. It hurt her foot more than the tree, which just made her angrier.

This reminded Azizah of her flight ceremony a few years back. A tiresome search in a tiresome forest.

She ran her hands through her hair, forgetting she was wearing a hair ribbon. Yanking it out, she shoved it in her pocket. She was wet, cold, hungry, and completely lost.

Exhaustedly, she sat down under a tree. She scanned the surrounding foliage, looking for even a hint of red, making a list of everything she saw.

_Blue butterfly. Green leaves. Brown. Green. Brown. Red. Gre–_

_**Red?**_

She focused on the glint of crimson in the forest, thinking of the suffering child in the village.

With renewed energy, she jumped up and dashed towards the red streak. A she pushed away the undergrowth, she was vaguely aware of the branches stinging her face as she whipped past. She kept running, ignoring the pain, when she tripped on a log, falling face-first into some grass.

Groaning as she sat up, she noticed that she was in a meadow. Beautiful flowers decorated the lush, grassy hill, like sprinkles on a cake. It was surrounded by thick forest on all sides.

Temporarily forgetting her quest for the red clover-plant, she laughed and collapsed in a particularly large patch of flowers. It smelled sweet, like honey.

A flash of red appeared in her peripheral vision, then vanished.

Running over to the edge of the meadow where she had seen the flash, she scanned the ground, thinking of how happy the old woman would be when Azizah found the plant.

She frowned as she searched the field. _None of the flowers are red._

Another glint caught her eye. In the forest.

Bloody red.

There was a dark blur, and Azizah didn't even have time to scream.

* * *

><p><span>POV Lyall<span>

"She went into the forest."

Lyall turned towards Conan's voice. He looked anxious, like he was ready to dash off and find Azizah himself.

Lyall's heart sank. Ravyn was right. She had gone into those horrible woods. "How do you know?"

"An elderly woman was hanging around my hut. When she saw me, she asked if I had the medicine."

"What medicine?"

Conan ran his hand through his graying hair. "Exactly. She said that Azizah said that she would fetch me to get some kind of herb to heal a sick little girl. I had the herb in storage, and the girl was healed, but there's still no sign of Azizah."

Ravyn glided down to the platform where Lyall and Conan were standing.

"Well," Ravyn muttered, "I found the trail. She was headed towards the archery grounds... but then she veered off course headed into the forest."

Lyall smiled, relieved. "Now we can find her! Let's go." Before anyone could say anything, he leaped off the platform and landed on the ground. Conan and Ravyn followed.

Ravyn led the way to the edge of the trees, and Lyall looked around for a clue as to Azizah's whereabouts.

"Don't bother," Ravyn said flatly.

Lyall looked up, startled. "What do you mean, 'don't bother'? We have to find her!"

Ravyn didn't hear him. She had her head tilted slightly upwards, and her eyes were closed. She appeared to be breathing deeply.

Her eyes suddenly shot open, and she turned to the south. "She went that way."

Frowning, Lyall asked suspiciously, "How did you...?"  
>Ravyn started to head south. "Scent."<p>

"I don't smell anything."

She turned her head towards him, but didn't stop. "I have a good nose," she said, and tapped her smiling upper lip.

Suddenly, her eyes widened and her smile disappeared. She started to run. Lyall had to race to catch up. Conan didn't seem to have any problem dashing after Ravyn.

"What's wrong?" Conan asked, hand going to the short-sword he kept on his belt.

"Wolves. I smell wolves," Ravyn said, panic trickling into her words.

"Wolves? Nearby? Could Azizah have...?" Lyall panted, trailing off.

Silence, except for the pounding of feet.

Eventually, the trio burst into a pretty meadow, breathing heavily. Ravyn wasn't even braking a sweat, and ignored them as she sampled the air. After a moment, she ran for one corner of the field.

Catching his breath, Lyall was about to follow when he heard an inhuman wail. It was a horrible sound, a mixture of anger and horror and pain. It only lasted a couple seconds, but it was enough for Lyall to recognize who it came from. Ravyn sounded like someone was stabbing her with a white-hot dagger.

When he got to her, Ravyn was shivering. She looked like she had collapsed. When she turned to look at him, her eyes were glazed. She opened her mouth to say something, but only a whimper would come. Lyall had never seen his friend this weak and broken.

He glanced in front of her and immediately saw why.

A hair ribbon was lying on the ground. It was surrounded by torn bits of fabric and a boot from the pair Lyall had given the princess for her 14th birthday. He knew that the ribbon used to be blue, matching Azizah's eyes.

Now it was red.

Just like the pool of blood it drifted in.

* * *

><p><span>POV Azizah<span>

Azizah was aware of very little while she was conscious.

_Ouch. Hurts. My head... can't move... can't see either..._

_Black out._

_Still hurts. Hearing voices... Can't open my eyes. Too weak to move. Thirsty. So much pain..._

_Black out._

_Really thirsty. Pain. Too much pain. I can taste blood. Ground isn't moving like before. Not being carried anymore, I guess. Tied up. Whispering and giggling voices everywhere. So sleepy..._

_Black out._

_Water? Someone's pouring water into my mouth. Washes away the blood taste. Good._

_More voices. Can't make out the words. _

_Open eyes but can't see. Still can't move or talk either. Head hurts..._

_Black out._

Azizah blinked, fully awake.

She couldn't see squat. Probably because she was blindfolded.

Her mouth tasted like moldy rag. Probably because one was stuffed in her mouth.

Her limbs were all tingly and numb. Probably because she was tied to a tree.

She tried to spit out the gag, but she couldn't. Listening, she realized that the voices were back. They were light, tinkly voices, like little kids. Azizah highly doubted that she had been kidnapped by a bunch of toddlers. She couldn't understand what they were saying, so she assumed they spoke another language. Azizah inhaled through her nose, and the smell was overwhelming.

It was roasted meat, and it was the most repulsive scent Azizah had ever encountered.

She gagged, and the rag fell out of her mouth. Good thing too, because after that she threw up. Azizah actually preferred the odor of her own vomit to that of the cooked flesh. Her people were vegetarian, after all, and the thought of eating meat had never even crossed their minds.

Whispering echoed around the princess. Careful not to breathe through her nose, she struggled violently, trying to break free of her bindings.

Suddenly, the blindfold was ripped off. She squinted her eyes to the bright light, temporarily blinded. Her own blood was dried on her face, making it itch unbearably. Her head throbbed. She couldn't think clearly...

Someone or something brushed up against Azizah's leg.

She shrieked. The blindness was wearing off, but she was exhausted. Hearing the hissing/whisper voices again, she looked up straight into the face of...

… a little girl.

Azizah blinked, shocked. She was surrounded by what appeared to be a herd of nine-year-olds.

She was in a camp. Tent-like dwellings circled a huge bonfire that currently held the source of the roasted meat aroma: a boar.

The first thing she noticed was that the children were all staring at her. The second thing she noticed was that they all had black hair.

And red eyes.

Azizah's heart started to beat faster. _I need to get out of here. These are not normal children._

Her suspicions were confirmed when a couple of them changed into big black wolves.

The princess sat as still as she possibly could, and stared disbelievingly at the wolf-children. She didn't even react when one hissed, "We finally got you, bird-girl. We'll save you for the Fire Clan, and they'll reward us greatly. Why, I can't understand. You don't have any muscle, and you're so _skinny_. No good eats there." The voice was warped, wrong. It made Azizah's neck prickle with unease.

The wolves snarled and barked. It almost sounded like a round of applause.

The first one to speak leaned over to get in Azizah's face, and gave a twisted smile. Her breath smelled like meat, and the princess might have vomited again if she hadn't been scared for her life.

"Or... we could always eat you now. Not much meat, but oh well. We need all we can get now that the Fire Clan controls the territory and food supply."

The "applause" was even louder this time. Azizah's heart was going a mile a minute.

She looked around for a way to escape, but she was surrounded. There was no way out of this one.

_This is the end. Death by cannibalistic third graders. I'm sure Conan would be proud. _

_I wish I could say goodbye to my sister. She might end up being a better leader than me after all._

_And, while I'm at it, I wish I could tell Lyall how I feel about him._

The girl/wolf still looked like a girl, but when she opened her mouth, her teeth were sharp. Her red eyes glinted as she pulled out a knife. A very sharp knife.

"I guess we eat now, then."

Azizah screamed as blood splattered all over her face.

* * *

><p><span>POV Ravyn<span>

"What happened... Oh. Oh, no."

Ravyn barely heard the voice over the roar of blood in her ears. The voice might have been Lyall's, it might have been Conan's, she didn't care. _Oh my god, they got her. She's gone. This wasn't supposed to happen..._

The pool of blood was already drying. Ravyn clutched the small ribbon like a lifeline, even though she knew it was hopeless. Tears dripped from her eyes onto the cloth in her hand, washing away some of the blood to reveal the beautiful blue color underneath.

"No. She can't be dead."

Hearing the d-word spoken aloud almost made Ravyn start bawling. _I should've told her, _she thought, horrified. _We should've told her._

_Too late now._

She recognized Conan's voice through her cloud of horror. "Oh, no," he said, obviously panicking. "We have to find her. She can't be dead. This is horrible. We need the princess!"

White-hot anger clawed it's way through Ravyn's insides like a wild animal, desperate to emerge. She spun to face him, snarling. "'We need the princess'? Is that all she is to you? A tool to be used in your stupid plans? How can you say something so _insensitive_, you–"

"That's not what I meant at all, Ravyn, and you know that," Conan said quietly. "Remember, anger is just an escape from emotions that are harder to manage, like grief. It's important that you learn to control it." Conan's voice wavered, like he was nervous.

Ravyn took a deep breath, squashing the burning anger into a dark place where she could ignore it. Immediately, she began to feel more calm.

Lyall was still staring at the blood.

_The blood._ A lump rose again inside Ravyn's throat, threatening her with tears.

"Calm down. We need to think. She can't be dead! Maybe she left something, like a trail of pebbles to tell us where she went." Surprisingly, the voice came from Lyall, who squared his shoulders and frowned determinedly.

Thankful for something to do, Ravyn glanced around. _There's lots of blood, _Ravyn thought, slightly relieved,_ but it probably isn't enough for someone – Azizah – to have died._

Then she noticed a thin trail of the red liquid leading into the thicker part of the forest. It wasn't a trail of pebbles, but it was something.

She pointed it out to the others, and they both smiled in relief.

"She isn't dead! I mean," Lyall said, "they wouldn't bother dragging her off if she was already dead, right?"

_Unless they were going to..._ Ravyn shivered. She desperately hoped he was right.

Conan also looked worried. "Let's follow it, see where it goes. Who knows? We might find her at the end..." He trailed off, as if realizing how unlikely his theory actually was.

Wordlessly, Ravyn began to follow the crimson trail, but she wasn't sure she wanted to find what lay at the end.

* * *

><p><span>POV Azizah<span>

Azizah knew that she should probably be scared out of her wits, but she couldn't help but wish that she hadn't had her mouth open when the arrow pierced the girl's chest. _Wolf-child blood tastes awful._

She leaned over, spitting out as much blood as she possibly could. Then she realized that the blood stung like crazy.

Snarling and screeching echoed around the camp, drawing her attention back to the fighting.

A boy had appeared at the other end of the clearing, bow drawn, arrows flying. Wolf-children were dropping like flies. The fastest ones had almost reached Azizah's bow-wielding savior, but each got an arrow through the heart before they could get close enough to attack.

In a few seconds, all the demonic wolf-children lie dead on the forest floor. The boy began collecting his arrows from the carcasses without emotion, cleaning them off on the hem of his shirt. His dark hair hung in his face, half covering his red-brown eyes. _Hmm,_ she thought absently, _he is kind of cute._

Once his quiver was full of clean arrows, he turned to the princess and stared at her expectantly.

After a few seconds, Azizah quirked an eyebrow. "Well? Are you going to help me out here or what?"

He smiled. More of a smirk, actually. "Quite an attitude for someone tied to a tree. As for untying you..."

The boy pulled a dagger out of his belt. Before Azizah could react, he flung the little blade with blurring speed.

At Azizah's face.

She took a breath to scream, but the boy must have missed, because the blade veered slightly to the left. At least, that's what she thought, until the dagger whizzed past her arm and dug into the thick rope she was bound with.

Azizah jerked to her right, and the rope broke and slid off her body, freeing her from the tree.

She immediately tried to jump up, but almost fell over from the dizziness. She was still weak from blood loss, and she was starving.

The boy smiled. "Hungry?"

When Azizah nodded enthusiastically, he tossed a small bundle of leaves at her feet. She picked them up, examining them, as the boy said, "Eat them. You'll be happy you did. You'll be able to walk after only a few minutes."

Azizah hesitated, then nibbled a bit of the leaf. It was bitter, like the tea leaves Conan keeps in his cupboard.

He looked amused at her wariness. "I'm not trying to poison you."

She just stared at him, unconvinced. "And how do I know that?"

He didn't answer her question. "I'll give you some water if you eat all those herbs..." He waved a canteen, and the water sloshed around temptingly.

Azizah licked dry lips. She was desperately thirsty, and her mouth still burned from the blood. She ate the leaves reluctantly.

After draining the canteen the boy had passed her, she jumped up, wanting to be able to run from this person if she had to, even though she was still a little unsteady on her feet. She still didn't trust him.

Rubbing her left arm, which the boy had almost impaled with his dagger, she glared at him. "Show off. You could've just walked over and cut the dumb rope, you know." Azizah flinched. _I should really learn to think before I speak,_ she thought nervously._ He could just chuck the other dagger at me and I'd probably be dead. _

He just laughed. "And what fun would _that_ have been?" The boy said playfully. He _seemed_ pretty light-hearted...

But Azizah would never again be fooled by any strange forest creatures. "What do you want with me?" She demanded.

"It's a secret."

The dark-haired boy was starting to really annoy Azizah. "Can you at least tell who you are?"

He considered. "My name is He Who Strikes With Lightning."

I snorted. "Do you have, like, a nickname or something?"

He smiled. "Strike."

"Okay, so you're Strike. I'm-"

"Azizah, right? We had better hurry up and get out of here; the Fire Clan could be here any minute."

The princess was tense, ready to flee at a moment's notice. _This boy should not know my name, _she thought apprehensively. "So," she asked casually, "who told you my name is Azizah?"

Strike smirked again, as if her question had the most obvious answer in the world.

"Your father, of course."

* * *

><p><strong>So, what's the deal there? O_o This story is way more complicated than it seems.<strong>

**I got a question from someone about the plot, and I know I'm not supposed to answer questions like this, but it just struck me as so totally opposite of what I had planned. **

**"Conan's a bad guy, isn't he?" I was like, ****_wha...? Where the heck did THAT come from?_**

**Then, I looked at the story content and realized it wasn't a bad hypothesis. *facepalm* Oops. **

**I just wanted to clarify that, no, Conan is most certainly NOT an antagonist. -_-' **

**AAAAAANYWAY REVIEW! :3**


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